UBCO Professor Wants You to Stick to Your New Year's Resolution

With the start of a new year perspectives are fresh as people work towards resolutions and changes they hope to see in 2015.

Professors at UBC Okanagan know that these challenges can be very difficult and even more difficult to stick to for an entire year, and lifetime. Research shows that by a few weeks into January, most people who made New Year resolutions have already given up.

Assistant Professor Mary Jung (Photo Credit: UBC Okanagan)

Mary Jung, an assistant professor with UBC Okanagan’s School of Health and Exercise Sciences, is finding results to help people stick with their exercise routine. The findings in Jung’s recently published research project, Where Does HIT Fit? could be just what the doctor ordered for a global health market pushing $30 billion a year.

HIT, which is short for high-intensity training, involves short bursts of activity with periods of rest in between. Many tout HIT as a time efficient, novel alternative to the conventional no pain no gain approach to exercise. Jung wanted to know how people actually respond to HIT psychologically, and whether people would actually do it when not under the guise of a research study.

“Several exercise physiologists were conducting studies and demonstrating how effective HIT was at improving fitness,” she said. “After seeing such promising results, I wanted to see whether it was an attractive long-term exercise option—and whether or not people enjoyed it. We know that exercise is good for us, but many still do not do it because we prefer immediate gratification such as sitting down and watching TV, or we fear that we may not be able to do it.”

Jung is no stranger to conducting research projects centered around exercise, and last year she was given$450,000 over five years from the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar Award. Jung is using social cognitive theory as part of her research to develop and create techniques. Her theory is that brief social interventions will provide a practical and feasible means to bolster self-regulatory skills necessary for long-term adherence to physical activity.

Rather than just telling people to get their butts in gear and start exercising, Jung teaches them how to self-regulate exercise so they can do it on their own for years to come and make it a part of a regular routine. So far the results from her research are promising. To learn more about Jung and her research, visit ourstories.ok.ubc.ca/maryj.

Photo Credit: Screen Grab

TOP FIVE TACTICS FOR STICKING WITH IT
Asst. Prof. Mary Jung breaks down her research into her top five tactics for adhering to exercise:

Reward yourself for every step you make towards achieving your long-term goal.
“Rewards motivate you and reinforce goal-related behaviour in the short-term,” Jung says. Rewards promote consistency, which Jung identifies as key to success for adhering to health behaviours.

Avoid comparisons.
Jung shares how comparisons can be demotivating; they devalue what you accomplish. “Focus on being the best you rather than looking like someone or fitting into a particular size,” she says. “If we rely on inaccurate misperceptions, we can’t appreciate our own progress.”

Be kind to yourself
“Please, please be self-compassionate,” Jung says. “Self-loathing will lead you directly to giving up.”
Jung adds it also leads to unnecessary stress and anxiety. There will be setbacks—you will need a day off here and there, and that is to be expected. Jung knows this is harder than it sounds, but recommends keeping track of both successes and failures because it can help you identify patterns and remove obstacles.

Exercise in the morning
Jung says research from her lab has demonstrated that plans to exercise in the morning are much more likely to lead to exercise than plans made in the afternoon. “Your self-regulatory reserve is highest in the morning, and it is much less likely that barriers will pop up on you at 6am!”

Believe in yourself
It might sound trite but Jung assures that you can stick to your new exercise plan: “If you think you can, you can.” Research shows you are more likely to persist through challenges, she says. “You will give more effort, you will set loftier goals, and most importantly you’re most likely to carry out those plans if you stop doubting yourself and start thinking ‘yes I can.’”